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Sunday, April 30, 2017

Mazda Confirms 7-Seater CX-5 SUV, Calls It CX-8

After intense speculation coming from Japanese car blogs (such as this one), Mazda has gone on record and confirmed that they are indeed making a 7-seater CX-5. In fact, they’ve released a single teaser image of the production model called the CX-8. The CX-8 will be sold in Japan by the end of 2017 (as early as the third quarter according to some sources).
With its large CX-9 destined for export markets, the CX-8 is Mazda’s first three-row SUV in Japan. It serves as Mazda’s flagship SUV in Japan and as always, it will be carrying the brand’s full suite of Skyactiv technologies and trademark KODO – Soul of Motion design.

“Our latest offering, the CX-8 is a new crossover SUV for people who appreciate quality and need a car that seats more than five,” said Masamichi Kogai, Mazda’s Representative Director, President and CEO. “It has the looks, performance and high-end feel customers expect from a Mazda, and even adults can sit comfortably in the third row. Mazda aims to create a strong emotional connection with customers, and we will achieve this by continually advancing our lineup to offer all customers our unique combination of driving pleasure and outstanding environmental and safety performance.”

Though no exterior photos were shown, Mazda has at least revealed some key specifications of the CX-8 including its dimensions. The CX-8 measures 350 millimeters longer and 50 millimeters taller than the CX-5, and grows 230 millimeters in terms of wheelbase. Taking advantage of all that room, Mazda will also be offering a 6-seater version as well that swaps the 2-3-2 seating for a 2-2-2 one. This configuration has individually reclinable first and second row seats.

Powering the CX-8 is a sole engine: Mazda’s venerable and award-winning Skyactiv-D clean diesel engine. With 2.2 liters of displacement, this twin turbo low compression engine develops 175 horsepower and 420 Nm of torque. It will be mated to a 6-speed automatic transmission.

We reached out to Mazda Philippines on whether or not there’s a chance we’ll get to see the CX-8 for our market. Unfortunately, it looks like it’s only destined for the Japanese Domestic Model in as much as the CX-4 is only for the Chinese market.

This looks like a lost opportunity for Mazda to gain foothold not only in markets such as the Philippines, but SUV/crossover crazy markets such as North America. For now, it seems the Nissan X-Trail and Honda CR-V can breathe easy.

How is it under powered? the Skyactiv D 2.2L has 175hp and 420nm of torque, not to mention that Mazda excels in building light weight cars. Tell that to the Honda BRV, which has only 1.5L gasoline engine that has 118hp and 145nm of torque.

The new CRV diesel looks promising though but I expect that they would jack up the prices in usual Honda fashion. Subaru only has the Forester which is not a 7 seater but the 2.0 premium has adequate power but the XT has loads of power albeit it consumes too much fuel which will put a hole in your pocket.

So far, the Skyactiv D 2.2L is the best engine in its class with its twin turbochargers and Piezo injectors. There's no turbo lag, performance is superb, fuel consumption is best in class, and not to mention that the new generation Mazda vehicles are excellent vehicles.

I drive a Forester XT and for what it can do, I am happy to average 6 km/L on daily Metro Manila traffic. That's considerably better than driving another petrol CUV with 60% of the Forester XT's output and only averaging 7 km/L.

To the XT owner, a turbocharged gasoline 2.0 AWD crossover at 6.0km/l? That's great, but how are your driving habits? I bet you are very light on the accelerator, because anything more than a light step at a pedal, the turbo will spool up, wasting fuel.

But based from your feedback, that is great fuel consumption. I have a heavy foot and love to floor the throttle at any opportunity and I avg 5km/l with my Mazda 3 2.0. At one time I tried driving casually and I avg 8km/l in makati. But the Mazda 3 is just so fun to drive, I cannot stop myself from having fun, flooring the throttle when there's an opportunity, making hard turns with tires screeching makes me smile every time.

But don't mistake me as a reckless driver, I only do those things when the road is fairly clear and there's no peds around. How is the driving experience of the XT? I would like to know, thanks. I'm a fan of Honda and Subaru, and now a fan of Mazda as well.

@AutoActiv - those race cars are already light in weight and thus what matters more for them is how much their engine can produce. In the real world, what matters is how much power/torque can push the bulk of the vehicle.

Yep, 6.0 km/L average from Las Pinas/Paranaque area to Makati and back. I drive casually on normal traffic but I cruise at 100kmh on SLEX/Skyway or even much faster. If I am a bit more light-footed, I could do much better on fuel efficiency. On bumper to bumper traffic, it can go to 5 km/L. The turbo spools past 2k rpm but you have ample power/torque below 2k rpm. The Forester XT does have 3 driving modes and it can be fuel efficient on Intelligent mode. On Sport# mode, power delivery is more instantaneous and the engine will rev happily to red line. We have had Honda vehicles before but it cannot compare to the Forester XT, unless maybe you have the powerful Accord 3.5L V6. The Forester XT can easily do a 0-100kmh sprint in just over 7 seconds. If you want something quicker and faster, get its sedan twin, the WRX.